3 Astros non-roster invites to keep an eye on

On Saturday, the Houston Astros announced their non-roster invites for the 2022 spring training season. Nineteen prospects and a former major leaguer make up the non-40-man names joining major-league spring training in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Infielder Edwin Diaz, a minor-league signee in December, was the first name on the non-roster invite list three months ago. On Saturday, a new addition to the system, outfielder Lewis Brinson, joined the company with five major-league seasons under his belt.

These two are depth at the Triple-A level, that the Astros need with departures, trades and promotions altering the 2021 roster. A similar transaction was Jose Siri’s signing last winter, which ended in a low-cost, high-reward option.

With 20 non-roster invites in the Astros dugout, who are some names to keep an eye on?

There are easily three names that everyone will be monitoring closely this spring — Korey Lee, Pedro Leon and Hunter Brown. But besides those top prospects, there are three players that could be building trade capital or résumés for late-season promotions.

The first is catcher Michael Papierski, who was a member of the Astros’ taxi squad late into the ’21 season and the postseason. The LSU graduate and close friend of Alex Bregman wasn’t added to the 40-man roster for prospection from the major-league Rule 5 Draft earlier this offseason, but with the Draft being unlikely, Papierski has a chance to replace the depth that was traded away in Garrett Stubbs.

The 40-man is filled, but that is a corresponding move to worry about later. This spring, it would behoove the Astros to get game experience with the major-league starters and Papierski, who rehab patients have raved about on assignments at Triple-A Sugar Land.

While a switch-hitter, Papierski slashed .246/.379/.375 in 103 games last season, bordering league averages. Defense and command of the field are what makes Papierski valuable, and if the Rule 5 Draft doesn’t happen, the Astros could be eyeing Papierski for depth or a trade piece by August.

The Triple-A outfield will see a few Double-A names this summer and Alex McKenna could be one of them.

Pedro Leon, Corey Julks, Marty Costes and Norel Gonzalez, who was left off the non-roster invites, are prospects that will peruse the Triple-A outfield, along with utility-man J.J. Matijevic and Lewis Brinson.

McKenna is another option that could be promoted to Triple-A sometime this summer or even to open the ’22 season. The 24-year-old played 38 games in Double-A, following a slash line of .305/.390/.616 in 41 High-A games.

The right-hander saw a dip in offensive production in Corpus Christi, where he’d likely continue at the start of the 2022 season. McKenna could not be more excited for the opportunity, as he hopes to learn as much as he can with major leaguers.

“It’s such a blessing to be included in camp, and I’m excited to learn as much as possible,” McKenna told Climbing Tal’s Hill. “I just want to soak in the experience and compete with these guys. I feel like my goals are to continue to play hard and build off last year and continue improve every day.”

Complete Non-Roster Invite List as of March 13:

INF Edwin Diaz

OF Lewis Brinson

OF/3B Corey Julks

OF/SS Pedro Leon

INF Alex De Goti

RHP J.P. France

SS Davis Hensley

OF Marty Costes

RHP Hunter Brown

C Cesar Salazar

C Scott Manea

OF/1B J.J. Matijevic

RHP Jon Olczak

C Michael Papierski

LHP Parker Mushinski

OF Scott Schreiber

INF Grae Kessinger

RHP Ronel Blanco

C Korey Lee

OF Alex McKenna